South Korea’s kakaobank “most recommended” retail bank in APAC: survey

Indonesia’s BCA and StanChart Taiwan also topped the list.

South Korean kakaobank is the most recommended retail bank in Asia Pacific, according to a survey by bank rating site BankQuality.

The digital bank was voted as most recommended by 11,000 survey respondents across 11 APAC markets, with 1,000 respondents each from China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. 

Kakaobank topped the survey in 2020 before falling to the 5th spot in 2021.

Since launching in 2016, kakaobank has enjoyed success and popularity in its home market, and as of end-2021 has 18 million users, its annual report said.

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Indonesia’s BCA and Standard Chartered Bank (Taiwan) ranked in the 2nd and 3rd spots, respectively.

Rounding up the top five are two separate Citibank businesses: the Citi Hong Kong, and Citi Taiwan.

India’s HDFC Bank, Malaysia’s Hong Leong Bank, the Philippines’ Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), UOB’s Thailand retail business, and Bank of China made up the remainder of the top 10.

Last year’s most recommended retail bank, UnionBank of the Philippines, fell to the 36th spot.